We’ve all been hearing a lot about waist trainers in the news, so we thought it was a good time to pass along some advice about safe, effective postpartum belly wrapping.
We asked Dr. Cynthia Robbins. OB/GYN and women’s health expert to help clarify the difference!
"After the delivery of a baby, the body has had ligaments and cartilage softened by a hormone named relaxin. This hormone has been produced at the end of pregnancy to allow for structure shifting as the baby moves through the birth canal. I advise patients to wear a support wrap or belly wrap postpartum to stabilize the patient’s pelvis so that it is held in place and no longer shifts. This allows for the early resumption of exercise and for earlier return to normal function and pre-pregnancy shape. This is a healthy way to quicken recovery and products like The Belly Bandit Belly Wraps are made well, are soft to wear and my patients love them."
"However, a waist trainer is a very tight garment that can be cinched tighter and tighter to pull in the floating rib and anatomically compress. This is worn higher, does not stabilize the pelvis, and I feel puts harmful compression to the abdomen. It is has a temporary result that is no different than anything too tight around the skin. I recommend that my patients not use these and use the more effective permanent pelvic wraps like Belly Bandit wraps."
As always, we recommend talking to your doctor and remember that the bottom line is that postpartum compression should provide comfort and promote healing, not discomfort or pain!
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